Hi, I’m Andy, and I’m from the USA. I was diagnosed around 1 to 2 years back with stage 2 stomach (gastric) cancer. At this point, I’m still undergoing treatment, and I’ve been on targeted therapy currently.

I am Asian with a history of grandfather and uncle having stomach cancer. My family doctor advised me for genetic testing and endoscopy which, in the end, revealed stage 2 gastric cancer.

After hearing the news, I was just really sad. I felt empty and powerless. I dealt with a lot of grief at the time.

I cut down on alcohol by about half (4 down to 2 alcoholic drinks a week) and ate healthier more often (3 to 5 days a week).

I was recommended for partial gastrectomy and chemotherapy, which I followed. I tried traditional Chinese medicine as well.

Unfortunately, some didn’t work effectively. After doing some research and talking to my doctor, I changed my treatments, and it left me a little less anxious and discouraged. Right now, I’m just on targeted therapy.

Some of the treatments had side effects that affected me quite strongly. I had diarrhea, fatigue, and peripheral neuropathy (numbness). I managed them with exercise, eating better and self-medication.

The toughest part for me was that my insurance doesn’t cover targeted therapy.

After starting on treatment, I still kept my drinking down at 2 drinks a week (half what I used to drink), and focused on eating better. I spent more time with my kids and started going on at least 2 family trips each year. I also started contacting and visiting my parents twice as often. Still, I found that intimacy with my partner fell.

In the next two years, I hope to travel with my parents and family to Japan to attend a relative's wedding. Other than that, my only plans are to focus on recovering smoothly. My biggest dream is to see my children grow up and attend college. It kept me going, and motivated me to persevere.

After everything, I just want to grow old with my wife, and get to see our children grow up.

It’s that the cancer would spread. To overcome the fear, I prayed to God, and sought advice from family and friends who also have cancer.

I still feel the same as before. I’m still sad, and I don’t feel like much has changed.

The journey is tough. Look for support from your family and friends. Hopefully things will be alright.